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Activist Communiqué

Krystalline Kraus is an intrepid journalist and veteran reporter for rabble.ca since its 2001 beginnings. She needs neither a red cape nor safety goggles to fly into her latest political assignment.
She often live-tweets from events -- almost exclusively First Nations and environmental issues. You can follow her on Twitter @krystalline_k.

Activist Communique: Rising Tides Toronto press release against RBC

For Immediate Release: Rising Tides Toronto Holds Solidarity Action with the Unist'ot'en’s against the Royal Bank and Canada

Thursday March 28, 2013, 9am at Royal Bank of Canada’s Head office at Front and Bay

This morning members of Rising Tide Toronto deliver letters of trespass to the top institutional investors of Chevron. We will attempt to enter their offices and make sure these corporations know that their investment is fraught with risk and legal implications which will become very costly. We take action today to show that here in Toronto, there are those of us that will hold them accountable to the destructive and illegal projects they finance.

This action is in solidarity with actions taking place on Saturday March 30th as cities across the country answer the Unist'ot'en’s call for actions against Chevron and those that finance their fracking projects.

Chevron is the new corporate face of the Pacific Trail Pipeline project, having recently become 50/50 partners with Apache to build a fracking gas pipeline across 500 kilometres of largely unceded land, from Summit Lake to LNG plants planned for Kitimat. Taking away the right to up to 30 million litres of fresh drinking water over its lifetime.

Everywhere they operate, Chevron exploits land and people for money, often through the use of force and without taking responsibility for the consequences.

“If Chevron tries to install unsanctioned pipelines through unceded lands they will meet complete and utter defeat”, said Freda Huson of the Unis’tot’en Clan. “We will resist all of their plans. We act to protect our lands, and the climate stability of the whole planet.”

The last call for action in support of the Unist’ot’en resulted in rallies in 20 cities across North America on November 27th 2012. Shortly after, former PTP co-owners EOG and Encana divested from the project. interestingly, RBC acted as the exclusive financial advisor to EOG and Encana during a deal which saw Chevron assume 50% ownership of the Pacific Trail Pipeline and Kitimat LNG. Chevron and Apache have yet to make their full financial commitment, meaning they could still walk away from the project, which is exactly what groups working in solidarity with the Unist’ot’en are hoping they will do.

“Chevron should be aware that their partnerships with Indian Act Band Offices do not have jurisdiction on Wet’suwet’en Territory, said Toghestiy, a Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief. “Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs have said 100% no to your project. So you do not have the support of the territory holders who manage the lands 50% of the PTP project is proposed for. There will be no deal we will protect our land.”

The Unist’ot’en say NO. We in Toronto say NO. As the world continues to watch natives and non-natives become Idle No More, Rising Tide Toronto is working to rebuild and strengthen relationships with all those that share the land and seek to protect it for future generations.

We do not need fracked gas, we do not need to invest in another pipeline and we will not stand by as colonial governments and greedy corporations push us over the climate catastrophic cliff edge. We will amplify resistance by uniting our struggles against environmental racism, illegal oil wars, and attacks against migrant workers and indigenous sovereignty.

“The Pacific Trail pipeline can still be stopped. We know that dismantling the fossil fuel empire is a colossal task, but every action we do takes its toll. Chevron, this is just the start… your time has come, your days are numbered!” Taylor Flook of Rising Tide Toronto

For More Information,

Unist’ot’en Camp – 778-403-1626

Freda Huson, Unist’ot’en Clan, 778-210-1100

Taylor Flook, Rising Tide Toronto, 416-820-6007

Maryam Adrangi, Rising Tide Coast Salish, 604-762-0536

Background Information:

Unist’ot’en (C’ihlts’ehkhyu / Big Frog Clan) are a clan of the Wet’suwet’en nation. The Wet’suwet’en are made up of five Clans, with territories that they are expected to manage for their future generations. Neither the Unist’ot’en People or the other Grassroots Wet’suwet’en are associated with the Office of the Wet’suwet’en.

Unist’ot’en Camp is a resistance community established on the Unist’ot’en traditional territory of Talbits Kwa, which lies in the path of several proposed pipelines projects hoping to carry Tar Sands bitumen from Alberta and fracked gas from Northeastern, BC. The only road leading into the territory has been blocked to industry since the November 20th eviction of PTP surveyors who entered into the territory to do work without consent of the Unist’ot’en who actively oppose the project.

Pacific Trail Pipeline is a $1.23 billion project that hopes to link co-owners Apache and Chevron’s fracking operations in the Liard Basin and Horn River Basin with their proposed LNG processing plant in Kitimat. If completed, the pipeline would be able to transport 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day.